What is table tennis?

Table tennis is a racket sport for two players, or four in doubles. You hit a light ball back and forth over a net on a table. You win a point when your opponent cannot return the ball legally.

What it is called around the world

Table tennis

The official name, used by the ITTF and at the Olympics

Ping-pong

Casual English name; once a trademark of J. Jaques & Son (1901)

Whiff-waff, Gossima

Early Victorian names

乒乓球 · pīngpāngqiú

Chinese

卓球 · takkyū

Japanese

탁구 · takgu

Korean

Tennis de table

French

Tischtennis

German

Tenis de mesa

Spanish

Tênis de mesa

Portuguese

Настольный теннис

Russian

Bóng bàn

Vietnamese

Tenis meja

Indonesian

كرة الطاولة · kurat at-tawila

Arabic

The rules today

• A game goes to 11 points. You must win by 2.
• Matches are usually best of 5 or 7 games.
• Each player serves 2 points in a row. At 10–10 the serve changes every point.
• A serve is tossed up at least 16 cm and hit on the way down. It must bounce once on the server’s side, then once on the receiver’s side.
• If a serve clips the net but lands correctly, it is a let and is played again.
• Return the ball after it bounces once on your side. Hitting it before it bounces (a volley), or letting it bounce twice, loses the point.
• The ball is 40 mm and 2.7 g. The table is 2.74 m long, 1.525 m wide and 76 cm high. The net is 15.25 cm high.
• In doubles, partners hit in turn and serves go diagonally.

International and most national competition follows the same laws, set by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). Casual play varies: some clubs and homes still play to 21 points or use house rules. Para table tennis, part of the Paralympics since 1960, adds rules for wheelchair and standing classes.

How the rules changed

1. 1880sEngland: a parlour game played with books for a net and a small ball, called Gossima or Whiff-Waff.
2. 1900–01The celluloid ball arrives, then pimpled rubber on the racket. J. Jaques & Son sell the game as “Ping-Pong”.
3. 1926The ITTF is founded and the first World Championships are held in London.
4. 1930sEndless rallies lead to time limits, later known as the expedite rule.
5. 1950sSponge rackets, popularised by Japan, change the speed and spin of play. Rubber thickness is later limited.
6. 1988Table tennis becomes an Olympic sport at Seoul.
7. 2000The ball grows from 38 mm to 40 mm, which slows the game.
8. 2001Games to 11 replace games to 21, and the serve changes every 2 points instead of every 5.
9. 2002Serves may no longer be hidden from the receiver.
10. 2008Speed glue, which used volatile solvents, is banned.
11. 2014A plastic ball replaces the celluloid one.

Dates for early history are approximate. Sources: ITTF · Wikipedia

Quick answers

Last updated 10 October 2026